Five months after the GV Florida bus crash, survivors and kin try to keep going

To drive away his fear of buses after the fatal G.V. Florida crash in Bontoc on February 7, Dino Dimar together with his brother, a psychologist, gathered all his strength for a bus ride in Metro Manila.

Just like during the incident, he sat behind the bus driver. The driver, who knew about Dino's circumstances, started the simulation - slowly gaining speed, sounding off air brakes, and gaining more speed.  

As the bus drove down the Skyway, Dino was transported back to the bus crash that killed 15 people and hurt 32, including himself.

As the bus rolled on, the graphic artist was freaking out and instructing the driver at the top of his voice: "Stop mo."

"Umabot sa point na hindi ko kaya. 'Yung view, nasa Metro Manila ka pero 'yung utak mo nasa area (Bontoc). Abnormal siya pakinggan sa inyo pero ganun siya e. Parang bigla kang hinigop at binalik sa time na sa loob ng bus," he shared with GMA News Online in an interview on June 30.

It is an experience that he has gone through almost every night since the accident.

"'Pag tahimik na 'pag gabi, naaalala mo lahat - sasakay ka ng bus, babagsak siya, nararamdaman ko 'yung bagsak ko, dalawang gulong sa damo, ramdam ko 'yung grass, ramdam ko 'yung impact, ramdam ko 'yung bagsak ko, pag-angat ko, pag tingin ko sa clouds, pagkita ko sa site. Hanggang ngayon ganun pa rin siya," he said.

But, as Dino shared, he was not the one who suffered the most trauma from the incident. Some survivors could not sleep on pillows, imagining them to be the corpses they saw after the bus fell into a ravine in Bontoc town in the Mountain Province.

Aside from the psychological and emotional toll of the accident, Dino also needs to deal with physical trauma.

His clavicle was broken and he still cannot carry a bag because of his shoulder injury. He walks with a limp because of an injured left leg and is not allowed to run or jump because of his bad knee.

For a person who was planning to join a triathlon next year, he is back to square one.

For almost half a year, physical rehabilitation has been his focus, simply because there is little else to do. He cannot go back to his active lifestyle without undergoing therapy.

Neither has he traveled outside Metro Manila for about five months.

"Lahat kami may trauma pa rin. I used to climb mountains. Biyahe lagi, sakay lang ng bus. Ngayon, may takot na ako sa heights. Before, wala naman," he said.

Last month, he went back to work as a graphic artist for the Inquirer group. Although he is trying to go back to a regular life, he cannot ride public transport and has to be driven to and from work every day.

After everything that happened, Dino is still thankful that he has a second chance in life. Now, as one of the bus crash survivors, he says that one of his life missions is to be an advocate for road safety.

"May isang reason bakit pa ako nabuhay… Isang mission ko is to stand for everyone," he said.

The fighter

For tattoo artist Trina De Leon, 30, another survivor of the Bontoc crash, life changed - for the better - after the accident.

Trina found zest in life after the incident, finding meaning in her craft as a way to honor and commemorate her fallen friends.

"Naging ano ko, actually more on positive sa akin. Naging strong ako. Parang nalaman kong supportive pala yung family ko, may supportive friends ako," the soft-spoken woman said.

"Lalo ko pang pinapahalagahan 'yung buhay ko. Dati paano-ano ako, masyado 'kong relax, painom-inom. Ngayon, busy na ako," she added as determination sparks in her eyes.

Apart from her road safety advocacy, Trina said that she is also engaging in physical activities like sports because she has realized the value of physical fitness.

All by myself

What Chat Baranda resented after the incident was that the bus line, G.V. Florida Inc., did not contact her family even once in the five months since the tragedy.

Chat is the widow of Don Baranda, who was on the bus with a group of artists headed for Sagada.

Although she was emotional throughout the interview, Chat remains practical even after her loss.

"Ang laki ng impact sa mga anak ko kasi very close sila sa daddy nila… Sabi ko, we have to face it, we can't do anything about it right now kasi nangyari na 'yung nangyari," she said.

"Walang day na nagdaan na hindi ko siya naalalala," she said, tears streaming down her face.

"Actually, I was moving out of my house kasi ang sakit. Although andun 'yung memories, minsan 'yung memories, hindi ako maka-move on. Everybody is telling me na 'yung memories nga, isipin mo na lang. The more na isipin ko, the more akong nasasaktan. Ang hirap," she lamented.

Raising four kids—two of whom are in college—she said that she is also having financial troubles since her "tandem" passed away.

"'Yung day-to-day lives namin, ang hirap kasi I am all by myself, emotionally 'yun. Financially, siyempre malaki ang impact sa amin," Chat, who ran a tattoo supply business with her husband, said.

Filling in for Tado

They were big shoes to fill, admitted Lei Jimenez, widow of comedian and activist Tado. Instead, she chose to walk his path her own way.

"Sinasabi ko nga sa mga kagrupo ko, hindi ko kayang palitan si Tado at hindi ko mapantayan man lang kung paano niya ipapahayag sana itong mga pangyayaring ito. Kung anuman ang gagawin ko ay magdedepende lang kung sino ako at sa abot ng aking makakaya pero hindi ko puwedeng magaya kung anong atake niya rito sa usapin na ito," she said.

Lei added that filling in for her late husband was easier because she is aware of her husband's advocacies, which includes road safety.

She admitted that their family has been struggling financially too because she was a full-time housewife and Tado had been the provider ever since.

"Ngayon, ako namomroblema kasi full-time mother ako e, tapos hindi mo naman madesisyunan na magtrabaho ka kasi sobrang ang dami mo pang aayusin sa pagkatao mo. 'Yung mga anak mo, ina-assist mo sa kanilang healing process na wala na silang tatay," she added.

She cannot help but think that what happened to her husband was all a bad joke.

"Di ba 'yung asawa ko 'yung aktibista? Di ba 'yung asawa ko yung nagta-try na baguhin ito tapos bakit naman sa kanya pa nangyari?"

Back on the road

Suspended over irregularities in the registration and franchise of the bus in the crash,  the G.V. Florida bus fleet is back on the road again after the Court of Appeals overturned a six-month suspension ordered by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

The LTFRB has elevated the case to the Supreme Court.

In the meantime, a mural near the G.V. Florida bus terminal in Sampaloc, Manila that the victims and their families put up has had to be taken down over "grave threats".

"If there are people who see it as a threat in any way, then it is unfortunate that they are missing the message," Dakila Philippines, a group of artists, students, and individuals for social changes that Tado helped found, said. — JDS, GMA News